Axios

The Senate: All eyes are on the upper chamber this week, as senators race to pass their tax cuts bill:

• Tuesday is the first hurdle: The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to hold votes that would pave the way for the tax cut bill to hit the floor. Two undecided Republicans, Johnson and Corker, sit on that Committee. So their votes on Tuesday could tip their hands for later in the week.

In early April — nearly eight months ago — President Trump told the New York Times: "[W]e're going to have a very big infrastructure plan. And bill. And it's going to come soon. And I think we'll have support from Democrats and Republicans."

• It's late November, and we're still waiting.

Senior administration officials met last week in the Roosevelt Room to discuss when they might finally turn the president's infrastructure promises into reality, and how a communications plan might be developed.

• Two sources who were present said Gary Cohn barely spoke during the meeting, which included officials such as D.J. Gribbin, who leads the White House's infrastructure drive.
• Per one source, White House political director Bill Stepien said the group needed to consider the midterm elections when deciding when to finally make their big push. Some in the White House are skeptical that infrastructure will drive Republican voters to the polls.

Bottom line: The White House doesn't seem any closer to having an infrastructure bill than it was six months ago. When I asked one senior official when infrastructure would happen, he laughed and said: "Good question!"

• When I asked the White House about this story, a spokeswoman listed a number of infrastructure-related accomplishments in lieu of the big bill, including moving forward on the Keystone pipeline and having federal agencies speed up the permitting process for builders.
• The spokeswoman said: "We'll be ready to move forward on infrastructure legislation as soon as Congress is, but we're not waiting on them to get started on the bigger picture."

What's next: Lots of Very Important Meetings.

With the Senate aiming for a tax vote late this week, White House and Senate aides express constant behind-the-scenes concern about three senators who are (a) worried about the deficit, (b) wholly unbeholden to leadership and (c) relish the opportunity to snub President Trump.

• Sens. John McCain, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake all despise Trump, and aren't likely to face voters again.

Senate leaders recently added a new name to the problem list: Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. He hasn't gone public with his concerns, but is withholding his support for the bill because he believes it favors corporations over other types of businesses.

Other holdouts who are being lobbied: Susan Collins (Maine) and Ron Johnson (Wis.). Collins has constituents who love it when she bucks the party line.WashPo just posted a good piece on changes being considered to win over holdouts.Why it matters: Lose any three of those six — and several could move together — and tax cuts are dead.The bottom line: GOP leaders hoped to lock all of these folks down before Thanksgiving. But that didn't work: Leadership doesn't yet have 50 votes.But, but, but: Even my most pessimistic sources tell me they think the political urgency to get something done will override the concerns of the holdouts.The consensus view is that Collins wants to get to yes, and Daines could help Johnson get on board, since they have similar concerns.Worth noting: No Republican seems to care about the tax package's miserable polling. Why not? A senior administration official summed it up in a text message (using Axios style):"Can't go into election next year with 'accomplishments' only being:Kept ObamacareFixed DACARaised debt ceilingIncreased spending via a partially paid-for sequestration budget cap deal."

President Trump and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have one thing in common — both are defending men accused of sexual harassment who belong to their own party.

Why it matters: Allegations of sexual misconduct are a bipartisan problem, and more accusations are expected. Senior figures in both parties will help determine whether those allegations are career-ending. They'll also help set the climate in which other accusers come forward — or decide not to.

If you thought you were tired of Roy Moore, you'll still love these insights into the thought bubbles of both President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, from the formidable N.Y. Times trio of Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman and Alex Burns:

• "Trump's decision to reject every long-shot plan to save the Senate seat reflects the imperative that an unpopular president faces to retain his political base, a determination that he should follow his own instincts after having felt steered into a disastrous earlier endorsement in the Alabama race, and even his insistence that he himself has been the victim of false accusations of sexual misconduct."
• "McConnell and his allies have been particularly infuriated as Mr. Trump has reacted with indifference to a series of ideas they have floated to try to block Mr. Moore."
• Key fact: "McConnell ... enlisted Washington campaign lawyers with experience in Alabama elections to devise a four-page memo outlining a legal avenue to block Mr. Moore's path."
• Why it matters: "The accusations against Mr. Moore have lifted Democrats' hopes of notching a rare victory in the Deep South in [the Dec. 12] special election, which would narrow the Republican Senate majority to a single seat."
• "Just as significantly, the president has handed the Democrats a political weapon with which to batter Republicans going into the midterm elections: that they tolerate child predation."

Be smart ... Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist close to McConnell: "Either we're saddled with a Democrat in a seat that ought to be Republican, ... or we're saddled with a brand anvil that's going to drag down the president, drag down the Senate, drag down the party and plunge the Senate into immediate turmoil when he gets there."